Whether your goal is weight loss or to be able to run a marathon, a personal trainer can get you there. A good trainer will motivate you to become stronger, leaner, and faster than you ever thought you could be.
However, not all trainers are going to be a good fit for you.
A relationship with a personal trainer needs to be built on trust, and their style of training and motivation needs to jive with you or you’ll be far less likely to stick with the program.
Before you dive headfirst into hiring a trainer, you’ll want to ask them questions from our list of things to ask a personal trainer.
Find a good fitness trainer with these 7 key questions
1. Does your fitness specialty meet my goals?
Some trainers may be focused more on bodybuilding in their fitness, while others may be more athletics-focused. While any good trainer can adapt to any client’s needs, finding a personal trainer whose goals are similar to yours can be helpful.
Trainers also have incredibly varied backgrounds, so if you’re going to get into training to run marathons or take up kickboxing, there’s no doubt you’ll be able to find trainers who are part of those communities. They may also hold specialized training certifications or awards that demonstrate to you that they’re more than capable of coaching you to excel at those activities.
For example, some of the accolades and specialties from our personal training staff include:
Specialist in fat loss, hypertrophy and strength, and conditioning.
Specialist in functional training and movement patterns, fat burning circuits utilizing bodyweight exercises and core-centric.
Tabata hybrid fat-burning circuits, Olympic weight lifting technician, strength and conditioning specialist, Muay Thai combat specialist.
MMA fighting and Strength & Conditioning Specialist
Gold Level in Muay Thai/Kickboxing at former Ultimate Martial Arts - North York.
Trained and competed at the Canadian Hip Hop Dance Championships and represented Canada at the World Hip Hop Dance Championships.
2. What qualifications do you hold?
It’s important to ensure any personal trainer you hire holds a relevant certification. Most gyms won’t hire a trainer without one.
All of our staff hold a minimum of a Personal Training Specialist (PTS) certification from canfitpro as well as CPR and First Aid. This ensures that our trainers have been taught to be able to deliver:
Aspects of fitness, wellness and basic training principles
Nutrition and bioenergetics
Cardiorespiratory, skeletal, and muscular system anatomy and function considerations
Flexibility, mobility, and fascia considerations
Passive and dynamic assessments
Periodized program design and delivery
Many of our staff hold other more specialized certifications as well, including Precision Nutrition (PN1).
3. What’s your training style and how will you keep me motivated?
The personality of every personal trainer is completely different, so it’s worth taking the time to find a trainer that you’ll mesh with. You’ll need to enjoy the company and coaching style of that trainer so it will be easy for you to overcome any low workout motivation you’re experiencing that day.
Do you like to be shouted at like you’re at a boot camp? Or are you more the quiet encouragement type? Maybe you prefer some cheery optimism to help you power through those grueling final reps.
A good trainer can adapt to any of these styles, but spending some time during your consultation to get to know them and how they like to motivate their clients can be helpful.
A trainer should be able to demonstrate how they set smart goal progressions to help you achieve, bit by bit, the results you’re working towards without getting overwhelmed. By marking your weekly progress and seeing the fat drop and muscle build, you’ll be inspired to keep up the pace.
4. How do you structure workout plans?
You’ll want to make sure you get a sense of how the trainer plans to structure your fitness program early on so there are no crossed-wires when it comes to expectation.
Your personal trainer should explain to you how they plan to work with you to establish your comfort level in exercise and inspire you to push beyond it. They should also demonstrate how they plan to teach you new exercises and build on the previous sessions, with exercises that are varied enough to keep you stimulated.
Ask them how they plan to balance cardiovascular, resistance, and flexibility training to meet your goals. Also, be sure to ask them if they can incorporate some of your favourite exercises or athletics activities!
5. Are you trained to work with my medical condition or sports injury?
Navigating fitness with an injury or chronic condition without proper guidance is tricky, as certain exercises may make your condition worse or result in further injury. Thankfully, PTS-certified trainers will be able to create modified training sessions that support both your health and fitness.
If you have an injury or condition, or history of medical complications, it is important to bring this up with your trainer during the initial health consultation. Be sure to ask them how they plan to work with you to avoid triggering your problem areas, and clear that workout plan with a doctor beforehand if necessary.
6. Do you create custom meal plans?
Want to know what foods you should be eating, and when, to meet your fitness goals? Want to know what to eat before, during and after the gym?
A personal training program would not be complete without meal planning. Trying to meet your fitness goals without considering your diet is like starting a race behind everyone else.
Without the correct diet, you won’t have the calorie surplus you need to build muscle or the calorie deficit necessary to lose weight.
You will want to make sure that either the trainer has exercise nutrition certification or that all programs are overseen by an in-house nutritionist like ours are at HOUSEFIT.
A custom meal plan will combine your fitness goals, dietary restrictions and health factors into a nutrition roadmap that supports your HOUSEFIT fitness routine.
7. What’s your cancellation policy?
Last but not least, you must understand a trainer’s cancellation policy.
Since trainers need to maintain a steady flow of clients to make ends meet, they probably have at least a 24-hour cancellation policy. Both you and them must acknowledge this in your agreement so there are no misunderstandings down the road.
Book a free 90-minute fitness consultation with a HOUSEFIT trainer today
Ready to work on a better body with us?
We’re Toronto’s favourite training gym and are proud that our clients continually recommend us to their friends after having experienced the life-changing benefits of joining HOUSEFIT.
Our boutique operation is fully focused on personal training, and all of our staff are experienced trainers who will take your fitness to the next level.
LAST YEAR WE HELPED 200 CLIENTS SHED 10,000 LBS OF FAT!
Contact us to book a free 90-minute health and fitness consultation at one of our two convenient North York locations.